Compelling case for a royal commission

Date: November 10 2012

ENOUGH is enough. How much more evidence of child-sex crimes by clergy is needed before a royal commission is launched? This newspaper has been saying for months the Victorian parliamentary inquiry is woefully inadequate. It lacks the time, resources and independence to deliver justice to the many thousands of victims and to generate the changes that might prevent many thousands more innocent children falling prey to paedophile priests.

There is abundant evidence not only of these cruel and despicable crimes, but that the Catholic Church has long been protecting perpetrators, people who ought to be investigated and, if convicted, imprisoned. The church's hierarchy should long ago have given all relevant documentation to the police, who complain that it disgracefully refuses to refer any of the alleged cases to authorities. A royal commission would force such disclosure, without which justice will not be done.

This is a national issue - another reason why the Victorian inquiry is inadequate. On Thursday, a 30-year veteran of the New South Wales police force told a national TV audience of a cover-up by the Catholic Church of child sex crimes by some priests.

The Victorian inquiry has heard harrowing testimony from victims, experts and law enforcers. It has heard estimates that there are tens of thousands of victims. It has heard an estimate that as many as one in 15 priests is guilty of these crimes. It has heard that rape of children by priests continues.

The church claims it has dealt with the issue effectively and appropriately through internal processes. This is absurd and insulting; there can be no confidence that an organisation can properly and independently investigate itself, particularly when it has been seen to conceal the crimes.

This newspaper believes it is time the federal government leads action against this scourge. We are calling for a national royal commission. That is the best hope of rendering justice to the victims and their families and loved ones, of bringing criminals to justice and of saving more vulnerable young people from horrific abuse.

The head of the Catholic Church in Australia, Sydney Archbishop George Pell, ought to have the decency and integrity to support a royal commission. We condemn him for his failure to act correctly thus far, but we believe he still has the chance to redeem himself and his church. Congregations across the nation must be devastated by these crimes and should demand such action from Cardinal Pell.

The lives of many victims have been ruined. Many others have committed suicide. Some politicians say a royal commission would merely further traumatise the survivors and their loved ones. These MPs are either failing to listen to the countless calls by survivors for a royal commission, or they are under the undue influence of the Catholic Church, a hugely powerful institution.

We believe the Victorian inquiry should recommend that, in light of the evidence that these crimes are so widespread, the federal government establish a royal commission. That would give Prime Minister Julia Gillard the perfect opportunity to do what should have been done long ago. Like the Victorian inquiry, the royal commission should examine a range of religious and other organisations, but the evidence to date points a damning figure at the Catholic Church.

This is about protecting our children. A government and a community can have no greater responsibility. Enough, surely, is enough.

It's time for gay marriage

THE United States is a highly religious country. Moral values dominate its politics. So some observers thought President Barack Obama risked a backlash when he endorsed same-sex marriage in May. Tuesday's elections, however, showed that the America Republicans thought they inhabit is largely gone; voters' views have ''evolved''. Three states voted for gay marriage, making it legal in nine and recognised by 12. Another state elected the first openly gay senator.

Until recently, Republicans used ballots to ban same-sex marriage to get out their vote, but Mr Obama surely did his political calculations. The most recent opinion polls show a fast-widening gap of 12 to 14 percentage points between majority support for same-sex marriage and opposition. In Australia, support was 57 per cent in an Age/Nielsen poll last December and has topped 60 per cent in others. There is majority support even among Coalition voters. Yet Parliament recently blocked same-sex marriage.

Following Mr Obama's remarks, Gillard government minister Penny Wong won praise for a dignified defence of her and female partner's family. When Coalition frontbencher Joe Hockey insisted children should ''have a mother and a father'', she responded: ''When you say those things, Joe, what you're saying to not just me but people like me is that the most important thing in our lives, which is the people we love, is somehow less good, less valued.'' The simple, personal case for fairness and respect has led even strongly Catholic nations such as Spain, Mexico and Argentina, among about a dozen countries, to accept same-sex marriage. Change appears imminent in half a dozen more, including New Zealand and Britain, which have conservative leaders but bipartisan support for change. What kind of Australia do our major parties imagine they represent when they claim to be defending community values? They should learn from the Republicans' folly of seeking to represent a nation that no longer exists.